CLAREMONT >> Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is in favor of returning local control of L.A./Ontario International Airport, as long as the price tag is right.

Garcetti made the comments Thursday morning during a roundtable meeting with elected officials from Assemblyman Chris Holden’s 41st District, which includes Claremont and Upland.

Ontario officials have countered an offer by Los Angeles World Airports about what they believe is the fair value for the transfer of the airport, Garcetti said.

“It’s not a disagreement about whether this can be or should be transferred but about how much. If we can arrive at a mutually agreeable price, I think we can get this done,” he said, following a meeting at the Alexander Hughes Community Center.

Thursday’s comments by Garcetti are the most outspoken the mayor has been about the dispute over control of the medium-hub facility since taking office July 2013. Both sides now appear closer to reaching a middle ground on the value of the airport than in recent years.

Despite the progress, Ontario Councilman Alan Wapner said the transfer needs to happen as soon as possible. In the first five months of the year, the airport has seen less than a percent in increase of passenger traffic from the previous year.

Wapner, who has been the city’s liaison on the issue and serves as president of the Ontario International Airport Authority, said an agreement could be reached by the end of the year.

“(Garcetti) is definitely engaged and I think we’re close,” he said.

From the start, Garcetti has been open to transferring control of the airport to the authority, Wapner added.

“From the very first meeting with Mayor Garcetti he told us he believed the transfer operation to Ontario is the right thing to do,” he said. “That was the biggest hurdle and he had already made that decision.”

Another unknown for Ontario was what Garcetti would deem a fair value of the airport. Previously – under then-Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa – the two sides failed to agree on the value of the airport. LAWA set a sale price of $474 million for ONT, nearly double the $250 million Ontario offered.

Since taking office, Garcetti said he immediately sought to change the tone of the conversations, adding he felt that it was by some accident that L.A. came to own ONT.

“We are not trying to make money out of the airport but the dollars taken out of LAX to do things at Ontario as well as the existing debt would need to be assumed by them,” Garcetti said, referring to the Inland Empire authority that would take over control.

“I have to be able to look at the people I represent in the eye and say, ‘This is a fair price and didn’t give something away.’ They need to look at theirs and say, ‘We can afford this,’” Garcetti said.

But, Wapner said, Garcetti has been open to a dialogue about the offers that have been made. Both sides declined to state the financial figures.

“It’s getting close and the major obstacles have been cleared,” Wapner said. “At least we’re on the same page. We’re trying to achieve the same goal.”

The Los Angeles mayor’s comments are in stark contrast to June 2013, when Ontario filed a lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles and LAWA aiming to rescind or reform the terms of the 1967 agreement that gave control of the airport to L.A.

LAWA, which operates Los Angeles International Airport, the Van Nuys airport and the Ontario airport, is a department of the city of Los Angeles.

The suit seemed to put previous discussions about transferring control of the airport on an indefinite hold. In December, Garcetti told Ontario officials he was not open to negotiations unless Ontario dropped its litigation. Both sides agreed to put the lawsuit on hold while a deal was negotiated. The stay lapsed on Jan. 31, without an agreement, paving the way for the lawsuit to proceed.

Al Boling, Ontario’s city manager, said the city has been pleased with the level of engagement and involvement by Garcetti and his effort to continue discussions with Inland Empire officials this year, despite Ontario’s suit proceeding.

“Our preference would be sooner rather than later,” Boling said about a possible ownership transfer. “We continue to hold productive meetings and discussions with the mayor of L.A.”

Another notable change has been the level of involvement from Garcetti, inland officials said. During the previous administration, Ontario only met with L.A. city staff and never with Villaraigosa directly.

Garcetti said he has been involved in three meetings, the second of which was convened by Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif.

“We’ve had great discussions,” said Garcetti, adding that he met with Inland empire officials just last month.

Ontario officials have long blamed LAWA officials for the downturn in passenger traffic at ONT.

In its 25-page suit, Ontario contends Los Angeles breached its contract with Ontario by failing to bring in and retain service at ONT, failing to properly market the airport, and abandoning plans to redistribute air traffic throughout the region.

Garcetti admitted that after hearing all the commentary from Inland Empire officials about the beleaguered airport, he himself thought it might have been mismanaged.

“I don’t think its been mismanaged by LAX and LAWA,” he said.

It prompted Garcetti to personally talk to airlines who have told him there is not enough passenger traffic at ONT to support new flights and one of the reasons they have consolidated operations there.

“I’ve hustled for new flights. I’ve brought three new flights from Mexico to Ontario when I was on the last trip,” he said. “That said, if people are convinced we’ve mismanaged it, then here, have the airport.”

When negotiations began under the new administration, both sides agreed to leave what happened in the past behind them, Wapner said.

But the Ontario councilman did say that LAWA has failed to develop at least 1,500 acres of airport property that could have brought in additional revenues to the airport and in turn reduce the operating costs for the airlines.

Garcetti acknowledged it might be difficult to get a light-rail line at certain hours of the day to the airport, and told transportation planning officials they should also consider shuttle buses or rapid-transit bus lanes to ONT.

“We need to make Ontario an easy option,” he said.

As the chair of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and in his role as the mayor, Garcetti said he is committed to doing what he needs to alleviate the traffic out of LAX.

If ONT were to transfer operators, he said he would still be committed to being a regional partner with that airport.

“I want Ontario to have as many passengers as possible,” Garcetti said.

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